Generally speaking Hoyas are often slow to start from cuttings and you can expect your small plant to spend time developing a root system before it will start much growth up top. It is not unusual for some cuttings to sit for a year before really growing while others are much faster growers and can be a good sized plant in the same amount of time.

What conditions are you growing your Hoya in? What kind of light exposure? Do you know what Hoya you have?

Mike

I feel much better, Mike. Thank you. I honestly don't know what it is, unfortunately. A casual acquaintance gave me a cutting and some other stuff in exchange for some gessies I gave her. I knew what to do with everything else, but have never grown hoyas.

It rooted well and formed a good size root system relatively quickly.

It's directly next to a set of north-facing windows. I have it in a pretty fast mix; it dries out between waterings. I fertlize weakly each time I water.

I got one that was rooted and it did nothing for two years. I had it in a south facing exposure about 8 ft from the window. People on here helped figure out that it is probably a carnosa because of the leaf shape and size, vining behavior and thicker leaves. Once I knew what it was I moved it to a west facing window where it is inches from the glass and now it is growing like mad. I'd say I get a new leaf every week and it has developed four new vices. I fertilize it once a month and water it about 1-2 times per week depending on temperature during the spring-fall and in the winter I water it once every 7-10 days and don't fertilize.

Each hoya behaves very differently and has different requirements.

If you know what kind of hoya you have you can do a search on here using the name and get some really good info on how to care for your hoya.

If you don't know what kind of hoya you have, if you post pictures of it on here there are some really amazing hoya collectors and experts on here that can help you figure out what you have.

Good luck and welcome to hoyas!

Hello!

You might try a heavy flushing, since it's in fast-draining media,
and then follow up with a slightly heavier dose of Foliage Pro.

Josh

If I were to suggest one thing it would be to give your Hoya more light. Indoor light levels drop off very quickly as you move away from the window so your plants should be close to the window. An East or slightly shaded (or back a little from the glass) South or West window would be the best choice. You can grow plants in North windows but they are generally not getting the light they need to really flourish. There are forum members that grow nice looking Hoyas in Northern exposures but in your case with a cutting that is not performing I would recommend more light.

Mike

Don't feel bad. I have a Hoya Caudata that does absolutely nothing. I have two different ones in the same pot. One I got from Asiatica before they closed and one I got from Joni. They look to be different versions but they are both slow as molasses and have been sitting there looking pretty since 2009, even being outside all summer. :(

Michelle

Planthoarder, I have to agree that Caudata is one of the slowest growing hoya I own...mine took almost a year(and I live in FL) to grow and FINALLY it started to look like a plant instead of plastic/fake(hoya)...lol. Just when I was about to give up it surprised me and started to grow a couple of vines and leaves! Its still a slow grower mind you..but at least it looks like a real live plant now.

Since this thread seems to be addressing light, I have a question regarding the Lacunosa Sno Caps I received from Joni a week ago today!... the pot has several very young cuttings in it... and they are doing much better than when they arrived... but it has several yellow leaves, which I left on to see if they'd change.. but they haven't... they've only gotten more yellow..should I remove them.. and also since I babied it under a CFL on the kitchen counter, I now wonder if it is getting too much light.. I have misted it gently once or twice since it was completely dry when it arrived.. trying to keep the soil moist but not wet... what is the best light for it compared to my carnosa and would it prefer more attention than the carnosa, which has survived and bloomed in spite of me? Thanks for any help! Eileen

/TPH.

My caudata (from Joni) had approximately the same timeline as Pug's. I bought it last September and it started growing in Spring (a vine and leaf which I allowed to die back v_v) and again a month ago. Now it's got a few new leaves and I'm all but holding my breath for them to turn hard and indestructible. So, yeah, that's slow, but not 2 years w/outdoor light slow! I would definitely do something to push yours at this point. My caudata from Iris has already produced new growth, I guess b/c, as far as I can tell, steroid use by Hoyas is acceptable in Australia.

/Eileen.

You can keep your lacunosa in the same light as the carnosa. It will need more attention than your carnosa, but just in terms of slightly more frequent watering. I wouldn't worry about obsessive misting - it's not that fussy. Just water it until it drains through the bottom once it is starting to dry out. In those pots of Joni's you can see how far down the soil is dry and this will help. For example, I would water mine when I can see it's just got moisture at the bottom.

Those yellow leaves could just be the result of travel stress. This is one Hoya that will drop leaves fairly regularly, whenever provoked, but it isn't a dire sign in small quantities. I am assuming they are newer leaves that hadn't hardened up yet? If you start to see older leaves, further back on the vine, yellow then there might be reason for concern. I doubt you're giving it too much light, though. If the leaves aren't burning, (and I have singed Sno Caps leaves before) then you're probably okay.

Hoya caudata likes it wet. Not too acid as this will deter roots from developing properly. No peat moss and avoid coco peat as well. Try rooting it in a small pot of LFS mixed with perlite. Lots of drain holes and lots of water.
Keep it in a well ventilated area in moderate light. Once roots have formed and the cutting is somewhat root advanced, transplant this into a fine orchid bark, charcoal, perlite, potting mixture and not a big pot, they grow faster in a smaller pot and gradually increase pot size as the roots fill it.
I place a nylon stocking with magamp in it and place this near the root area. Avoid fertilizers in the soil as this tends to produce problems later on as media breaks down and releases micronutrients that have accumulated over the years.
This plant grows best if combined with another weak plant. I used to believe that this plant was parasitic because when a vine had snuck into another pot of something else, it would take off making bigger leaves and more flowers.

Thanks GG... the leaves that are yellow are actually "older" leaves.. very thick from a succulent point of view.. so vital in that regard... but still yellow... the rest of the cuttings have "freshened up" since the day they arrived.. and one or two much younger leaves have actually shriveled up completely and I did snip those off. Could I be keeping it too "wet".? yes, I can see the moisture through the pot.. I will not give any more water until I see some more drying.. and I will leave the yellow leaves there... will they return to green if I let it them dry down a bit!...? Thanks as always.. I feel very vulnerable with such tender cuttings.. would have preferred something a bit more mature!... but understand your reasoning re loss from shipping!... the rest of these tender babies seem to be fine!... Eileen

Yeah, I think it's a good theory that you're erring on the side of too wet. Even moist lovers like to dry a bit. Think like an African Violet. The whole pot of soil doesn't stay moist, it just doesn't ever go all the way bone dry. This time of year, in Vermont, probably watering once a week should do it. Mid summer maybe twice a week if it's getting a lot of sun.

On a lot of Hoyas there is a fair chance that the green will return, but on lacunosa I don't have this luck very much. You can probably nip them, although it's not as urgent as with a Begonia or something, so you can leave them and see if you want.

Hang in there, this is what you have multiple plantlets in there for. I'm glad the others are looking chipper. You're doing great. :)

Oh and if it keeps going downhill after you've let it dry out, then you can reroot it, so don't worry. Hoyas are tough and it's not over until they're all dried up. You've got plenty of cards left to play.

GG... thank you for your wise advice!.. I will try to stop "pampering" it... and put it on the window sill with the other plants...hoya, AV, cacti..my brand new aloe vera!... she'll be in good company!...btw... days are getting shorter up here already!...ugh. Eileen

RFG,

You've mentioned some terms I haven't seen here before - could you pls. define (1) LFS sounds like some kind of mix & (2) magamp.

To answer you about a different thread. Last I knew, Gerry Barad was fine, I'd seen him at his annual Open House event 2 or 3 yrs. ago, but unfortunately I haven't been able to make it there since. At that time he was still going pretty strong. Am guessing that I would have heard if he were no longer w/ us.

I have grown H. caudata from seeds, pollinated it and even made tissue cultured starts of it. They grow in an area where they have monsoonal seasons. They are very wet most of the year and then dry the other. I don't see them needing the dry spell as much as them needing the wet. I have had H. caudata vines fall over on the wet greenhouse floor to root and grow almost in standing slime water. they have then started to grow up along bench legs and flower much better than the original plant in a hanging basket in near bright light. H. caudata likes it wet and they have roots that can develop all along the vine.

Keep newly started plants in LFS = Long Fiber Sphagnum (sometimes referred to as NZ sphagnum) in a small space (2 1/2 to 3" rose (deeper than wide) pots. As soon as they're rooted, replant them to a bigger pot (just slightly larger perhaps 4-5 inch pot and then larger to a permanent 6 inch basket.

Avoid peat moss and acid fertilizers and add bonemeal/lime to the mix before planting it in. Leaves get very thick and plastic-like when well grown. They flower well on pot bound containers. Lots of water flush them out and liquid feed periodically.

He means long fiber sphagnum moss (LFS) in this context, I think PG.

Oops! simul-post. :) I hate that!

Thanks for all the notes on caudata. I would love to see one growing up a bench leg. Maybe I can at least optimize my potential now, though.

They grow on limestone rocks and mimic the color of the moss-lichen that are colored the same. Only the pink flowers are seen when a vine climbs onto a small shrub or dead branch. This is why the plant tends to flower on long leafless vines with multiple spurs along the vine tips.
Some leaves have no color except burgundy on them (those that grow on exposed rocks with no lichen coverings, others have lots of gray covering the leaves.
A variable species. I wish more smaller leafed forms entered the market, as these have small leaves with bigger umbels. Very sharp contrasts.

Thanks all re: LFS.

/Eileen.

This post of Mike's goes for you and your Sno Caps too. So be watchful. It sounds like most of your pot is good to go, but if that one piece goes south, nip it off at the last healthy looking node (bump where leaves are forming), and stick it back in the pot to re-root.

Thanks for the welcome and the advice.

Josh, I'm using Foliage Pro now; I use about 1/8t per gallon. It's in a modified gritty mix that I use with my Streptocarpus and Episcias. But, maybe it does need a bit more fert than I'm giving it.

I think it rooted in April or May. It rooted quickly and well. Then nothing.

I get less light in my east windows because of a tree; the west windows are filled with Streptocarpus and next to my light stands with other gessies. I don't want the hoya in the same room because I've heard they can be mealy magnets. With hundreds of other Gesneriads, I don't want to risk mealies!

I have one south window in the kitchen I could try...maybe I'll move it tomorrow.

Thanks again.

Of all the caudata forms this one has the prettiest leaves but is the smallest form. There are giant caudatas with a more pronounced leaf (tail-like) tip similar to the Ficus religiosa where a tail tip leaf is produced, but are elss colorful with either a maroon-brown leaf with little coloration but larger more ciliate flowers and more color. I have seen red colored caudatas in flower, but haven't seen any around so I imagine my original collection blew off somewhere into the Atlantic from Dennis Cathcart's collection he purchased from me.
There was also a linear form of this species (H. caudata) and a very diminutive form of this as well.

Hello!

Wow, that's a very light dose of Foliage Pro!
The recommended maintenance dose is 1/4 teaspoon (per every watering).
I actually fertilize with 1 full teaspoon every one to two weeks, and then I take
a week off and just flush the Hoya mix.

I'd try a 1/2 teaspoon at least. I think that'll start to kick your Hoya into high gear.

Josh

Yeah, I know 1/4 is the recommended dosage - and I use that with my outdoor plants - but I have trouble with most of my houseplants if I use that much. The AVs become very tight and fertilizer salts show up on the leaf tips if I use 1/4 t; both varieties of Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) were totally freaked out with 1/4 t, showing tip burn, dead leaf tissue, and extreme curling of forming leaves. Streptocarpus and Chirita are also considered light feeders, so I've not tried more with them. With most of my plants needing less, that's what's in the gallon jugs for all my houseplants.

I'm not sure about the Episcias. I haven't grown many and haven't tried them with a full dose. I've read they are light feeders....and that they are heavy feeders..and that they are normal feeders. Imagine me finding conflicting info on the Internet ;-). Logees suggests once a month with only 1/2 t.

I could try using a larger quantity less often with the Hoya, but I can easily see being confused about who got what when....

Which brings up a good question...what do people do when they have plants that have different nutrient needs?

The problems with your fertilizer sounds to me like a water issue that I had when living in another city. If you have hard water adding any fertilizer at all can be too much. Do you know what the TDS (total dissolved solids) of your tap water is? With very hard water you would be best to invest in an reverse osmosis unit and then mix half RO and half tap water to at least lower the amount of dissolved mineral salts.
I had to get an RO unit because my orchids declined quickly after moving and when I checked the water with a TDS meter it read almost 500 ppm. having this high amount of dissolved minerals is very tough on many plants and this is especially true of epiphytes because they are used to getting pure (no dissolved minerals) rain water in nature.

Can you look up or call your local water treatment facility or are you on a well?

Mike

I checked the TDS a while back. It was a OK. But, you bring up a good point...I moved to another part of the city and I know we have multiple treatment facilities. I have no idea what it is here.

I just looked. The last report says 176.

The amount of FP I'm using with gessies is consistent with other gessie growers, though, so not sure this is part of the problem. And, while this isn't really low, it's certainly in the range that is acceptable based on what I've read.

I do keep meaning to buy a rain barrel, though, and it certainly won't hurt to do this.

I agree that at 176 the TDS of your water is not bad at all.
The price of TDS or conductivity meters is so low now (Ebay) that everyone should have one if they think their water might be causing problems.

Well I guess there must be some other problem other than the water or fertilizer solution so hopefully you get it figured out.

Mike